Crossed Up
crossed up
FERNADO BELAIR
Bultaco is a company on the move, with new ideas and new approaches, and the strength of conviction to put them to use in today’s insecure marketplace. They build fine motorcycles and they build them the best way they know how. So when we heard that the 1976 250 and 370 Pursangs were going to be totally new machines, it didn’t strike us as particularly sensational, just par for a progressive corporation.
The fact that the new Pursang motocrossers are all-new is not sensational, but the performance of the machines certainly is. We had the opportunity to spend a full day with Bultaco’s Western rep, Mike Hannon, riding the new machines at Rawhide Park. While a single day is totally insufficient time to do a test, it was enough time to acquaint us with the machines and for us to find out that, once again, Bultaco has hit the nail right on the head.
We rode these machines just after completing our 250 Comparison Test, so we certainly had a fresh memory of what much of the competition’s machinery is capable of. While this observation is totally subjective, had the (250) Bultaco been in our Comparison Test, it and the Suzuki would have locked horns in a battle to the finish.
There are some very vivid differences between Spain and Japan as regards motocross theory. While the Japanese go for zappy explosive type power, the Spaniards feel that strong tractable power is the answer. Bultaco accomplishes this with a conventional pistonport engine that is modestly tamed down by flywheel weight. With Oriental machinery you can spew up monstrous tails of dirt and debris. But not with the Bultaco. It hooks up to the ground like a cat and just wheelies away from the competition.
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European machinery has long had the upper edge in handling over the Japanese. Bultaco takes that edge one step farther with its new suspension and geometry. Up front, totally new Maicolike geometry has been designed with no-offset triple clamps and long-travel leading-axle forks. Stanchion diameter is a whopping 38mm to eliminate flex. Movement is measured at 9.5 in. Fork action is just what you would expect from Bultaco. . .flawless.
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In back, ultra-long (17.3-in.) Betor gas/oil shocks provide just over eight inches of axle travel. The action of the Betors, first introduced as original equipment on Montesa VR motocrossers, is equal to the front and every bit as good as the advertisements would have you believe. Overall handling is fantastic.
In addition to the extra travel made available with an offset front axle, the new steering geometry lets the Bui get in tighter and stay tighter through corners. There is absolutely no front-end washout. When you turn the handlebars you’d better be sure you’re ready because it responds RIGHT NOW!
To top the new package off are plastic fenders, a full-floating rear brake and a very strong front binder. The exhaust is quieter than most MXers’ and the machines are done in simple paint schemes: blue and white for the 250 and red and white for the 370.
Look out for these new machines at your local Bultaco dealer. Then look out for them on the race track!
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Just a short note of correction. In the March ’76 issue, the color photo in the “Trans-AMA Wrap-Up” was shot by Dan Shannon, not Paul Webb.
DIRT RIDING IS GOOD, CLEAN FUN
